(KINGSPORT, TN) – Just
in time for your summer reading, Sunstruck
hits the beaches! Daniella is an architecture student living with her
narcissistic artist boyfriend in San Juan. Abandoned by her father at an early
age, Daniella always falls for the ‘wrong’ type of man. Her most enduring male
relationship so far has been with her cat.
Several strange mysteries are threaded through Daniella’s everyday life: her
ex-husband, Ismael, has just opened an outlandish hotel for animal lovers that
has her distraught; Ismael’s wife, a rich woman Daniella fondly refers to as
‘Lady Dracula’, has some gruesome ways to keep her skin looking young;
Daniella’s mother is founding a revolutionary, feminist society called The
Praying Mantises; the island’s national forest is being depleted of
hallucinogenic mushrooms; meanwhile, young girls are disappearing and there’s a
nut loose dressed as Zorro slashing the rear ends of women who wear miniskirts.

Oppressed by all these eccentric characters, Daniella feels herself falling
into an abyss. Then something terrible happens, making Daniella wake from her
stupor and take charge of her life.

“Dark
and quirky humor coupled with quixotic characters adds to the surprising mix
found in Sunstruck… I've never read a book remotely like it. Everything from
the humorously weird to the acutely macabre can be found between these covers,
and then some.” –Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review

"Sunstruck is like a nutty Whodunit
with a little twist. Who really is in the Zorro costume? With all the crazy
characters I caught myself pointing fingers again and again. A great read that
will make you forget where you are, while you giggle yourself to complete
oblivion from all the silliness."–Autumn Blues Reviews

About the author: Award-winning
author Mayra Calvani has penned over ten books for children and adults in
genres ranging from picture books to satire to paranormal fantasy novels. She’s
had over 300 articles, short stories, interviews and reviews published in
magazines such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal and Bloomsbury
Review, among others. She has lived in America, Asia, the Middle East, and
now lives in Brussels, Belgium.

children’s
stories that were to come in later life and originally written

for
his grandchildren.

Liam
has had two other books published with Guardian Angel, The

Golden
Daffodils and Mr.
Topper, the Lucky Potbellied Pig.

More
are coming soon.

Liam
spends his time gardening, keeping fit, entertaining his

grandchildren
and searching for leprechauns.

About the Illustrator:

Gin May is an engineering
graduate, hailing from Malaysia. Her

greatest interest lies in fantasy art, with an emphasis on human
or

humanoid characters. She says she enjoys doing fantasy-based
pictures

since she can brush off anatomical mistakes by claiming the
character

isn’t human. She lives on a steady diet of instant noodles and
potato

chips.

Samples of her work may be viewed at http://ginmay.cjb.net/

The Plumber
and the Wishing Well

What could be
more charming than Irish folk lore and Christmas, all wrapped up in to one
story of wee people and their magical wishing well?In this story written by Liam Maher, a beautiful
yellow bird tries to find a way for her friend the plumber to buy presents for
his children on Christmas Eve. The bird
Tupo, visits her friend in the forest, and receives instruction on how to find
a magical wishing well.

Upon her
approach the well is covered in unforgiving vines. Tupo is entertained by music and dance, and
witnesses some mystical wee people. The
little people have a problem that maybe Tupo can help them with. They are sad over the fact that Christmas
will be ruined if they do not find a way to fix their problem.

The plumber arrives and notices something most
rewarding, but does not share his new found knowledge with anyone. The little people are delighted to see the
plumber, and want to give him riches, but the plumber has other intentions.

This Gaeilge
flavored tale with all the influence of the emerald Isle, has a few intriguing
turns and twists that will delight a child’s interests. The art work of Gin May is beautifully
illustrated, and pops from the page. This
is a heartwarming story of kindness, sharing and consideration for others in
need. The plumber is concerned with how the
little people will be able to continue the life they are accustomed to
living. His intentions are to manipulate
the chain of events and make life better for everyone. The story of the Plumber and the Wishing well
is truly in the holiday spirit, and lends example for children to practice in
their every day travels.

This enchanting
holiday story includes a leprechaun, an elf, a fairy, and other interesting
characters. With all the charms of Irish folklore and brilliant art work, I
rate this book with *****, and because of the wonderful message of sharing, it lends to all.

This review was written by Susan Hornbach, author
of children’s literature.

Monday, July 9, 2012

The First Americans

Would you use a buffalo bladder as a canteen or wear a coat made out of seal
skin? Native Americans cleverly used everything in their environment in order
to survive. They created games, recipes, tools, and homes based on their
surroundings. A word search review game is included.

The First
Americans, written by Kelly Bakshi, is the story of how early Native Americans
crossed the Bering Strait from Asia to Alaska by foot when it was frozen solid, thousands of years ago. This creative
non-fiction book will draw the interest of children, as they will be able to
identify with the children of different regions so long ago. They’ll find themselves walking into the far
north where they will meet Ahna from the Inuit Tribe. They’ll find out about
her igloo, how it was built, and how Ahna lives and survives the elements.

Traveling on
to the North West coast of the United States further south, children will meet
Malid of the Kwakuitl Tribe. He will
tell them how he honors the Earth, finds his food, and what creative things his
tribe does with the trees.

As their
trip continues to the Southwest where it is a warm dry climate they will say
hello to Catori of the Hopi Tribe. Catori’s
people live in a very unusual building made of clay with no doors. Children will delight in the way one must
enter their home.

Further
East, Hinto of the Dakota Tribe will peak their interest when he explains how
his life revolves around, where the buffalo roam. Hinto lives in a portable house made of many
animal skins.

The famous
Hiawatha from the Iroquois Tribe in the Eastern Woodlands will tell children of
her many accomplishments. Hiawatha’s
people live in large strange looking houses, and the tribes of her people give
much power to woman.

Moving on to
the Southwest they meet Quigaltanqui of the Natchez Tribe. This child of early times lives in a warm
mild climate. Children will learn how
this tribe’s class of people is ever changing.

These Native
Americans worked hard, and they played hard.
This book lends education to games they played, and what they did to
survive and eat well. The First Americans
book explains about storytelling, crafts, activities of these early Native
Americans, as well as much detail to their traditions, and survival.

The
time line for when the first Americans crossed the Bering Strait is of
great controversy among those who study the subject, but no matter what
the time span; whether it be 30,000 or 15,000 years ago, I think this
would be a book valued by any parent, teacher, librarian, and certainly I feel
this is a book children will not only enjoy, but also, remember and value.

The pictures in The First Americans book for
children are brilliant, expressive, and quite informative. I enjoyed
this book, and give it five stars ***** for educational
content, drawings, and photos.

This review was written by Susan
Hornbach, author of children’s literature.

About the author:Kelly Bakshi is a Social Studies teacher and awriter. She is also the author of Myth-BustingColumbus. She holds a BA in Political Scienceand History from Rutgers and a MS in SecondaryEducation from Mercy College. Kelly loves livingin New York City with her husband and son.Visit with her at www.kellybakshi.com

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Welcome Karen Sue, Linda, and Candace

Cody Knows, written by Karen Sue Wiesner, with Linda Derkez,is
an intricate detailed picture book with few words that depict the life of a
small toddler boy named Cody. The book is displayed for very young children,
and takes a child through a day of waking, bathing, eating, romping, exploring,
visiting, playing, and pretty much getting into everything this rambunctious
happy toddler can dig his little curious self into.

His Mom is on
the go from morning till night doing her best to keep up with her baby. Cody
likes books, his dad, his Grandma, yummy food, and finds comfort at the end of
the day in his Mom’s lap.

I think this
book will hold the attention of small children ages 2 to 4 years of age, and
would be a great book for 5 year olds to read along with a parent. I recommend Cody Knows for anyone looking for
a book to cuddle up with at the end of the day, or any time when you and your
little bombardier need a break! I give
it *****for an all around story and art
experience for little tikes.

Illustrations of Cody knows:
Candace J. Hardy

This book was reviewed by
Susan Hornbach, author of children’s literature.

“This story follows
one day in the life of little Cody. It begins at daybreak and ends

at bedtime. Most any
child will be able to relate with the story of Cody—a wonderful

picture book for
preschoolers. Simple words to follow and short sentences per

page so your child can
read along with you. The illustrations are bright and

colorful...”~Huntress
Reviews

Suggested age range for readers: Toddler - 5

............................................................................................................................................Karen Sue Wiesner is the children’s
book pen name of Karen Wiesner. When asked why this award-winning, multi genre author
ventured into children’s books, Karen says, “For the reason I think most
authors write children’s stories: My son Cody is an avid lover of books, like
his parents. I wrote this book for him when he was just a baby, wanting to share
what a unique, special child he is. Cody looks at the world in an unusual way
that I hope will captivate others as much as it has my husband and I. Candy’s
illustrations really bring out the single day of adventure we go through living
with our son.” Karen is an accomplished author with 90 books published in the
past 14 years, which have been nominated for and/or won 123 awards, and has 16
more titles under contract.

Candace J. Hardy lives in
Northwest Ohio with her husband, three children, a Dalmatian, two rabbits, and
a pigeon (with whom she shares her studio). Although she has studied oil and
pastels privately, she currently renders digitally and in colored pencil. She
taught elementary education, hearing impaired children, and later home-schooled
her own children, leaving writing and illustrating to be kept “on a back
burner”.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Welcome to a Review of:

Chip is a
dreadfully selfish little bear who can’t find it in his heart to share any of
his toys with his cousin Dorcas; who comes with their grandmother to visit Chip
and his Mom. Chip is instructed to play
with Dorcas and share his things, but Chip’s Idea of fun is to insult Dorcas’
name, talk back to his mother, and torment his cousin by sharing nothing with her.

Dorcas is shy and timid, and gives Chip the
benefit of the doubt at each attempt to play with one of his toys. After much consideration and patients, Dorcas
decides she is fed up with Chip’s nonsense, and selfishness. Chip keeps telling her how they have to share,
but all the while he is sharing nothing with her.

Finally, Dorcas tells Chip she will share what
she secretly carries in her pocket. His greedy little self agrees to take it
without giving anything in return. After
her gift to Chip, he is hopping and crying like the outsmarted bully that he
is. His Mom and Grandma feel Dorcas has
served him his just deserts.

In the end
Chip realizes that what you give, is what you get back, but sometimes
worse. Chip then sees Dorcas in a new
light, and they begin to work on a friendship. This is a wonderful book for
children who have a hard time sharing.
It also has a life lesson for children; that no matter how timid a child
is, they have the strength within themselves to combat anyone who is unkind to
them.

I think this book written by Linda Derkez, and illustrated
by Phoebe Doehring, will empower children who are timid, and bring
enlightenment to those children who are a bit unkind to their playmates. I felt this book was entertaining, as well as
a lesson in social skills for children. The
pictures are colorful, cute, and in my opinion, will hold the attention of any
small child. For me, this books earns ***** for content, life lessons, and art.

This book was reviewed by Susan Hornbach, author of
children’s literature

Cousin
Dorcas is visiting today and Chip's mother tells him he must share his toys
because it's kind and nice and fair to share. Shy Dorcas picks up one toy after
the other, only to have that rascal Chip remind her that they have to share and
take turns playing with his toys. Finally, Dorcas decides to be kind and nice
and fair by sharing something with Chip that he might not actually want! Chip
finds himself reluctantly admiring his cousin for beating him at his own game.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

ABC’s of Health and
Safety

Welcome Melissa and Alexander

ABC’s of Health and Safety, written
by Melissa Abramovitz, and illustrated by Alexander Morris, is a multifaceted book for which
children will learn more than just their ABC’s, not to imply that, that would
not be enough to expect from a child’s colorful book.
But, this whimsical picture book also covers many subjects in the world of health,
safety, exercise, and happiness. Each
page explains to children the importance of keeping themselves healthy and
safe, and how to do it.

As each page turns, a new letter from the
alphabet appears with a wonderful illustration of a child who is performing an
act that pertains to what a child needs to do, to stay healthy and safe. It illustrates what they should eat, how to
be safe while swimming, Kitchen safety, and the list goes on and on, for each
letter of the alphabet throughout the book.
Children will be amused by the active pictures while they are learning
important life safety and healthy habits.

ABC’s of Health
and Safety could be an important learning aid for teachers of beginning grades.
This book could be incorporated into a teacher’s curriculum, as the book holds
a wealth of information for safety and health education. Parents will also find this most informative
book for the health and safety of their children useful. Most of all children
will love to read this colorful book again and again, as it is first and
foremost, a fun book to read! ABC’s of
Health and Safety deserves ***** for imagination, great
illustrations, and exceptional informative content.

This book was reviewed by Susan Hornbach, author of children’s
literature.

About the author:During her 25+ years as a
freelance writer, Melissa Abramovitz has published hundreds of magazine
articles for all age groups, from preschoolers through adults, along
with more than 30 educational series books for children and teens. She
has also published poetry and short stories for children, an adult
novella, and is the author of A Treasure Trove of Opportunity: How to Write and Sell Articles for Children's Magazines for writers. Of all the varied types of writing she does, putting together rhyming picture books is her absolute
favorite! In addition to the newly released ABC's of Health and Safety, Guardian Angel will be publishing her picture book, Helping Herbie Hedgehog, in the future. Melissa holds a degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego.

About the illustrator:
Alex Morris graduated from the Illinois Institute of Art—Schaumburg with a Bachelor’s in MediaArts & Animation. Since middle school he knew he wanted to be an artist, spending time drawingmonsters, evil clowns, and any other twisted malform he could conjure. In college he discoveredthe “gentler” side of his imagination and started drawing cartoon characters. Look for more of hisillustrated books from Guardian Angel Publishing.Visit Alex at www.alexrmorris.comGuardian Angel Publishing, Inc.Saint Louis, MO 63128 USA

Melissa Abramovitz is
a versatile writer who enjoys writing for all age groups, from
preschoolers through adults. While she specializes in nonfiction
magazine articles and educational books on health topics, she also
writes on a variety of other topics, including science, nature, and
history. She has published some fiction and poetry as well, and has
written five rhyming children's picture books.

Her new book for writers, A Treasure Trove of Opportunity: How to Write and Sell Articles for Children's Magazines, was released by E and E Publishing in February 2012, and her children's picture book, ABC's of Health and Safety was released by Guardian Angel Publishing in June 2012. Helping Herbie Hedgehog is under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing.

Melissa Abramovitz is
a versatile writer who enjoys writing for all age groups, from
preschoolers through adults. While she specializes in nonfiction
magazine articles and educational books on health topics, she also
writes on a variety of other topics, including science, nature, and
history. She has published some fiction and poetry as well, and has
written five rhyming children's picture books.

Her new book for writers, A Treasure Trove of Opportunity: How to Write and Sell Articles for Children's Magazines, was released by E and E Publishing in February 2012, and her children's picture book, ABC's of Health and Safety was released by Guardian Angel Publishing in June 2012. Helping Herbie Hedgehog is under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing.

Welcome to the July 2012 issue of Guardian Angel Kids Ezine (GAK). This
month, GAK is all about a different family experience – adoption, where through
a legal process, a person becomes a member of a family different from their
birth family. Please enjoy all the fun and informative features in this month’s
issue and please feel free to share the GAK link www.guardian-angel-kids.com with your friends – and family, too, of
course!

Letter from the POETRY EDITOR:Donna J. Shepherd

Featured
BookS:

One
Nutty Familyby James Byers
and illustrated by Kevin CollierCurley the Crooked Christmas Treeby Rodger Pritchett and Mike
Webb and illustrated by Jamie Holmes

“The Duck Family Reunion,” by Suzanne Purvis and
illustrated by Jack Foster – A young bullfrog discovers he is right where he
belongs.

“A Basketful of Eggs,” by Shari L. Klase – How birds play
a role in adoption of a different sort.“Teaching Children about Adoption,” by Kathy Stemke – how
teaching children about adoption and altering certain activities includes all
types of families.

Please feel free to drop Editor-in-Chief, Donna McDine an
email atsubmissions@guardian-angel-kids.comand let them know what you think of
Guardian Angel Kids and what you'd like to see in the future. They aim to
please.

The Guardian Angel Kids E-zine staff and contributors look
forward to your visit. Thank you for your time and
interest.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Welcome

Today I
have posted a review written for Linda
Derkez, and David Fielding’s new
book:

One
Large Peanut Butter Sandwich to Go

A new Release from Guardian Angel Publishing

This is an ever moving
story about a boy named Scotty who likes to eat his food while walking around
the house. His Mother is easy going and
would rather not say no to Scotty, but also is concerned about the crumbs he
drops as he travels around with his food.

Scotty’s Mom uses her imagination, to
peak Scotty’s imagination. The two of them come to a solution based solely on
Scotty’s decision through his imaginary experiences. In the end, Scotty finds
the perfect place to eat his food.

Scotty imagines
himself outside with his very large peanut butter sandwich. He meets a mailman, a neighbor, a hairy dog,
a grandma, a gentle man in a hat, and many other people who all have the same
thing in common; they are hungry!

The pictures in this
book are vividly enticing. They jump off the page and grab attention. I think
any child would be thrilled to read these pages written by Linda Derkez, and gaze upon the artwork of David Fielding; over and over again. This book could
very well become a favorite in a child’s library.

I give this book*****for
color, and *****for
story content. The mother in this story
found a way to heighten her child’s reasoning without being cross or negative;
a lesson to be learned for sure.

This book was reviewed by Susan Hornbach, author
of children’s literature. http://Bagfullofbooks4kids.blogspot.com www.susanhornbach.com

Linda Derkez has always enjoyed
writing, especially journaling. The mother of three, she began writing
children's stories that would reinforce lessons or values she wanted her
children to learn. Linda is the author of two previously published children’s
books, including: Caleb's Missing Whisper & Other Stories and Chip's
Sharing Day. Linda also co-authored Cody Knows with award-winning
author (and sister) Karen Wiesner. Linda also enjoys writing children's stories
with her husband and her brother-in-law, David Fielding, who illustrated One
Large Peanut Butter Sandwich to Go.

Followers

About Me

Susan Hornbach writes creative nonfiction, fiction, poems, and a variety of children’s stories; some relate to her childhood in the 1950’s. She is a graduate of The Institute for Children’s Literature (Writing for Children and Teenagers). Ms. Hornbach finds the fun of research, and the challenge of putting it all together in an exciting informational package, to always be her passion. Her works can be found at Stories for children magazine, My Light Magazine, Health Freedom Nutrition’s “Smart Publication”